News Updates, 6/13-14

Zambia: Vatican Excommunicates Priest Over Milingo Ties
Lusaka — The Vatican has excommunicated Father Luciano Mbewe from the Catholic Church for openly congregating with excommunicated former archbishop of Lusaka, Emmanuel Milingo and members of his 'Married Priests Now' movement and another church.

U.K. Preacher Threatened for Anti-Gay Remarks
British street preacher Andy Robertson says all he wants from his community in eastern England is the freedom to disagree. Police have threatened to arrest the U.K. preacher for allegedly making homophobic statements.

Pakistan: Muslims tell Christians to convert to Islam, pay the jizya, or die
The woman said two masked men arrived on a motorbike without number plates. "We know that you and those at the recording studio are Christians. We warn you to leave this area, embrace Islam, pay 1,500,000 rupees (US$18,750) or be ready to die in a suicide bomb attack. Inform your neighbors as well," she quoted the men as saying. Christians have received similar threats in various parts of the country as fighting between government troops and the Taliban militants continues to rage in the country's northwest.
Sacred Heart Cathedral, several Catholic schools in Lahore and various pastors have received threatening notes telling them to convert to Islam.

=========
Other Issues
=========

Grocery stores taking "junk" silver in SoCal? (YouTube)
"Junk" silver being weighed at spot to pay for groceries, in this example, store owner computes silver at .37cents/gram. So $20.00 worth of groceries sells for a few dollars of pre-64 silver US coins!

WSJ: Imagine Breaking up the US - Divided We Stand
What would California look like broken in three? Or a Republic of New England? With the federal government reaching for ever more power, redrawing the map is enticing, says Paul Starobin...

A.I.G. Balks at Claims From Jet Ditching in Hudson
For the first couple of days after his flight ditched into the Hudson River, Paul Jorgenson was just glad to be alive. But then he started to need his laptop, his wallet, his car keys -- all the essentials he had stowed under his seat and left behind in the sinking plane. A pleasant woman at US Airways told him not to worry; he would be made whole for his losses. But then the matter shifted to US Airways' insurer, the American International Group, operating under government stewardship since its bailout last fall. "Everything went downhill," said Mr. Jorgenson...

Privacy may be a victim in cyberdefense plan
King Obama's vow to protect civil liberties may be difficult to put into practice
[Promises, promises, promises! How's that hope & change going?]
Six Flags files for bankruptcy protection
Amusement-park operator Six Flags Inc. filed for bankruptcy protection on Saturday and is seeking an expedited approval from the court of its pre-negotiated reorganization plan.